Sweet Nightmares
by MellowPaper
Summary: As the Guardian of Fun, Jack Frost always knew what his role in the world was. That is, until the Man in the Moon assigns him a new task: to watch over a mysterious new girl in Burgess. Will the two find love? Or will her dark secret destroy them both? JackxOC. Rating may go up as the story progresses.
1. First Encounters

**Hey, everyone! I said I'd be writing more fan fictions and here's one of them! From the first time I saw _Rise of the Guardians _in theaters I knew I'd end up writing some kind of fan fiction about it... and here it is! It's a bit of a change of pace from my other writing but I'm having fun with it, and I hope that you enjoy it too. Well, without further ado, my new story! Hope you like it. :) Don't forget about reviews and stuff!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Rise of the Guardians_. **

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_Man_, I love my job.

All across the town of Burgess, lights were switching on, curtains were being drawn back, and the faces of wide-eyed hopefuls were presently smushed up against the glass. What the children saw didn't disappoint. A blanket of pure white had spread itself over every rooftop and lawn, coated every road and sidewalk, and filled every possible nook and cranny with its icy splendor. More pallid flecks continued to glide down to join their fellow brethren. Each window's face morphed into an excited, joyful expression, as they knew what such a snowfall entailed.

"SNOW DAY!"

Yes, the "freak snowstorm," as the befuddled weathermen had called it, had arrived _so _unexpectedly and in _such _a large quantity that there was simply no way that the schools could open their doors. Bummer. Oh well, it's not like the teachers wanted to slap math formulas and Shakespearean quotes up on the chalkboard for their pupils to simply ignore them and look out the window instead. Those kids deserved a break. I mean, every kid deserves a little time off once in a while, right? If it were up to me I'd let them romp about in a winter wonderland every day, but of course the laws of the changing seasons say otherwise. Plus I'd already been rather generous to Burgess in terms of snow days. Guess I'd have to lay low for a while and let the math and _Macbeth _fly.

But that was for another time. Now, in this moment, it was a free day, a great day- a SNOW DAY. Best of all days, if you ask me. From my current altitude above the small town I could see (with a perfect view no less) that the kids of Burgess agreed. Little forms decked out in phosphorescent down jackets, puffy snow trousers and snow boots were already trickling out of homes at a steady rate, armed with carrots and top hats for snowmen and old wooden sleds several times their size. In a matter of moments I could see the foundations of igloos and snowmen starting to pop up, snowballs being thrown, and snowflakes being caught on warm pink tongues, signaling the snow day was already in full swing. But of course, the party couldn't start without the host. _Time to go have some fun._

I gripped my staff tightly and swooped down towards the small town with blinding speed, my silvery hair whipping in my eyes and the cold winter air spattering against my cheeks and eyes. _Man, I love the feel of a nice frozen breeze in the morning. _I pulled myself back up before crashing into a house and skimmed along its roof, brushing my fingers along the snow on top of it and feeling them tingle from the snow's soft, chilly touch. I love the feeling of snow, it's light and delicate but deliciously cool. Just like me, I suppose, except I'm no delicate little snowflake, I'm all fun and games.

Some laughter and shouts from below caught my attention. _Speaking of fun and games... _I looked down to see that I was approaching a house with some kids out front, engaged in a hard-core snowball fight. I paused in mid-air to watch. Upon closer inspection the fight did not appear to be all that fair; it was one versus three. That one solo kid was going all-out, chucking snowball after snowball with so much force that I half-thought his arm would fly off along with the icy projectiles. Unfortunately for him, the snowballs weren't exactly hitting what they were supposed to. The opposing kids ducked and dodged his attacks easily, giggling and making faces to taunt the boy further. I felt kind of bad for him, he deserved an A+ for effort, no doubt about that.

_I think I'll lend him a hand. Poor kid needs _something _for all that hard work. _I clutched my staff and formed three large snowballs out of thin air. one for each target. I raised my staff, then swung it down, pointing it in the general direction of the kids. The snowballs hurtled down, and... smack, smack, SMACK! Each one found its mark, one on a shoulder, another on the back, and one on the leg. The three struck kids, completely bewildered, didn't know what to think and were looking around wildly, seemingly determined that the snowy orbs had dropped out of a tree, or a lamppost, or a bush even. But the bespectacled boy who'd been throwing to begin with knew. He looked right up to the spot where I hovered and grinned hugely.

"Thanks, Frost-man!" he called up to me through cupped hands.

I smiled down at him and shrugged. "'Swat I do," I said to him.

The boy's three playmates quickly turned at the sound of my voice and looked up. Each little face morphed into one of surprise, and then into a kind of annoyed expression after that.

"Aww, come on Jack, that's not fair!" said one girl, her face all pink from laughing earlier. "You're already like the king of the ice so you're automatically gonna have the upper hand!" Even as she tried to appear displeased with me, her face was already turning into one of wonder and admiration.

"Yeah," agreed another kid, a little stocky redhead who seemed tired from leaping about to dodge snowballs. Poor guy. He too just couldn't seem to stay mad at me either.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I may have done something a _liiiittle _bit not by the book, but how do you think your friend feels, eh, kiddos?" I gestured to the little boy with the glasses on his face, who nodded back up to me. "I was watching earlier and your friend here was all by himself trying to take out all three of you! Not exactly fair right then and there, now is it? I just had to step in and even the odds a little." The boy's friends looked across the way at him and their faces fell a little, as they realized that they hadn't been the best snowy playmates.

"We're sorry, Jake," the pink-faced girl said to the glasses-wearing boy, "we should have seen how hard you were trying to get us and taken it easy on you."

"Yeah," agreed the redheaded boy again. Clearly this one was either a people-pleaser or a man of few words. Possibly even both.

"Hey, I have an idea," said the third kid, another girl with her short black hair poking out of a knitted cap shaped like a sock monkey. "Let's make the fight two-on-two, like it should be. Then Jake won't be all by himself!"

"Hey, there's some nice thinking," I said with a smile. Sock-monkey girl gleamed up at me with her huge brown eyes. "Well, now that you guys have settled everything out, I'm gonna keep on spreading my wintry cheer through Burgess. You kids have fun, okay?"

The kids nodded back up at me. "Sure thing. Thanks, Jack!" they all shouted in unison. With one last goodbye wave and smile, I lifted up higher and continued with my air patrol, leaving the four little munchkins to start a _real _snowball fight.

Yup, I'm Jack Frost, in case my earlier clues didn't give it away. I'm the Guardian of Fun you see, and I was responsible for today's freak snowstorm and all the other freak snowstorms that had come before it. I love my job, but not just because I get to create snow and dump it wherever I feel like it. It's because of that little moment right there that I had with the kids that makes all of this worth it. I typically don't pay visits to the kids all the time (lots of snow to maintain), but on occasion when they happen to look up and see me flying around, I'll always say hello to them and it makes me feel nice and fuzzy inside to see the happiness on their little faces and hear the adoration in their voices as they thank me for another great snow day. It hadn't always been this way, though. Before I'd become a Guardian, I'd been a loner that not one child believed in. People used to walk straight through me because they didn't believe in my powers or my existence; "Jack Frost" was just an expression to all of them. If not for one awesome little boy, I'd probably still not be believed in today.

Speaking of an awesome little boy... I snapped back into focus at the sound of some familiar laughter. I looked down below me and saw that I had entered an equally familiar part of the neighborhood. Ten-year-old Jamie Bennett was outside in his front lawn, decked out in winter gear, making a snowman with his little sister Sophie. While the two of them rolled together a snow mound for a head, Abby, the family greyhound, was out exploring the frosty wilderness, her snout deep in the mysterious icy substance. At the sight of the three faces I couldn't help but smile. Jamie had been the first to believe in me, so I couldn't help but always feel grateful to him whenever I saw him. He was a great kid.

As I passed over the Bennett's front lawn, my shadow caught the boy's eye and he looked up. His warm brown eyes widened and he flashed me a huge grin. "Hey, Jack! Thanks for the snow day!" he called up to me, waving one gloved hand.

I smiled and waved back as I passed. "Keep up the good work, you two!"

Jamie nodded vigorously as he turned back to his sister. "Hey, Soph, after we finish our snowman, let's make another one shaped like Jack Frost! Does that sound like fun?"

"Preeetty!" The little girl agreed, clapping her hands after me.

I grinned as I continued with my flight. _Good old Jamie and Sophie. Gotta love those guys._

As I passed over the rest of the town I continued to look down at all of the people below. I was in Burgess so much that I recognized every face that I saw passing by. There, for instance, was that older lady who loved scarves and was always walking at least three dogs about town. And there was the bald, mustached guy who worked in the grocery store and was oftentimes outside feeding pigeons with the bread he'd get at a discounted price. As I continued along I spotted more and more familiar faces.

_There's the old lady driving her antique Ford, the little boy who likes to play tag, the unfamiliar girl on the bench-_

_Wait a sec, hold the phone, who _is _that on the bench?_

I paused mid-flight to look down at the girl in question. I quickly realized that she might see me hovering suspiciously over top of her seat on the bench, so I swooped over to a tree behind her. I landed on a high branch, set down my staff next to me, and studied the girl with curiosity.

She was quite unlike anyone I had ever seen before. Most of the teenagers here in Burgess all fit the same mold: hunky jock types for the guys and tall, slender Barbie-doll girls. Not exactly an original vibe. This girl wasn't anything like those teens. She wasn't nearly as toothpick-thin and she had some curves, which I found refreshing and very... _real. _ I _definitely _preferred her over someone who was so thin that they didn't seem able to hold themselves up on a pair of sticks-for-legs. She looked around my age (my equivalent human age, that is) and seemed to be lost in whatever it was she was drawing. She had a small red sketchbook in her lap and she appeared to be sketching something with a purple ballpoint pen, though from my angle I couldn't quite see it. She had some earbuds in her ears, from which I could hear some rock song echoing, and they attached to an iPod encased in a cover shaped like a cupcake. _Cute and unique,_ I noted. The sun shone down in just the right way that her long black hair sparkled in the sunlight, picking up some dark brown undertones and making them shimmer. Her hair was also quite unique for another reason, as there were streaks of pure gold here and there mixed in with the black. It was hard to tell whether her hair was naturally black and she had put in the gold highlights, or if she had golden blonde hair dyed black with a few original strands poking through, but either way she made it work. All in all, she'd blown me away.

_She seems really nice, _I thought. _Well, granted, she's sitting by herself and I haven't seen her talk to anyone so I don't know that for certain, but... wow. Maybe I should go talk to her. I've got some spare time._

Before I could make my mind up about talking to the unique girl, I heard a high-pitched squeak come from somewhere behind me. I snapped to attention and turned around, but nothing was there. _Huh, that's odd. Maybe I'm hearing things. _I slowly began to turn back around when I heard the noise again, this time coming from a tree branch to my left, above me. I looked up, feeling somewhat tense, and I saw a familiar face up there. Instantly I felt stupid for getting so worked up over nothing. _  
_

"Baby Tooth!" I exclaimed in surprise. The little messenger was hovering in mid-flight near a snow-covered tree branch, her kaleidoscopic feathers glistening in the sunlight. I smiled up at her, wondering why on earth the fairy had come all the way out to Burgess to find me, but my smile faded the minute I noticed her expression. She was flitting about not in her normal happy, carefree way, but with tension. Her expression was rigid and her eyes were wide with... _fear. _I felt a small knot starting to form in the pit of my stomach. Whatever reason Baby Tooth had suddenly arrived here for, it wasn't good.

"What's wrong, Baby Tooth? Is something going on at the North Pole?" I asked her, extending one hand out towards the fairy.

Baby Tooth nodded vigorously and fluttered over to me, squeaking up a storm. While I couldn't quite understand what she was saying, her message was clear: something was going on at the Pole and I needed to be there. NOW. I felt myself become rigid. Everything had been so peaceful as of late, and I had absolutely no idea what was in store for me.

I glanced back down towards the bench where the girl still sat, doodling away, and I felt a bit of longing creep in out of nowhere. I'd really wanted to meet that girl, she seemed super-cool. But one more squeak from Baby Tooth snapped me to attention. The other Guardians could be in trouble. Whoever she is, she would unfortunately have to wait for another time. Well, at least she would be easy to find next time. I'd know that black and golden head of hair anywhere.

I turned back to face Baby Tooth, who looked even more urgent than before. "Don't worry, Baby Tooth, one quick portal to the North Pole, coming up," I said, trying to be reassuring. I reached into the pocket of my sweatshirt and pulled out a glass ball filled with water and snow. At the mention of the words "North Pole" the image of the frosty mountains and North's workshop appeared in the ball's surface. I clutched the ball, and with one last look around me, I threw the ball up into the air. A huge portal opened in mid-air and a wave of frosty northern air hit me clear in the face. _Yup, that's the North Pole all right. _I grabbed my staff and flew through without another word or thought that could distract me. Baby Tooth swooped in after me and the portal closed behind us, transporting us both from the peaceful town to whatever darkness awaited on the other side.

. . . . . . . . . . .

**Gillian's P.O.V.**

_What was that?_

I lifted my head and turned around to look at the tree behind me. I yanked one mint green earphone out of my ear, the sound of Three Day's Grace becoming half as loud with my action. There was nothing in the tree but some snow on a couple branches. I narrowed my golden eyes and frowned. _I could've sworn I felt a strong breeze behind me, like something had been there. _The tree just stood there, like, well... a tree. Nothing more, nothing less. I sighed. _I guess I'm just hearing things again. Maybe I should go see a doctor or something. _

I set my sketchbook aside and turned over my iPod, tapping the screen with one ringed finger to consult the time. What I saw made me frown. _Shoot, I'm going to be late! My friends are going to be wondering where I am. Better put the drawing away for now. _I paused to look at my sketch of a dragon hatchling poking its way through an egg for a quick moment before closing my sketchbook.

I picked my plaid messenger bag off of the ground where it sat next to my grape Doc Martens and opened it up, dumping my stuff inside. I stood up and slung it over my shoulder, looking up at the suspicious tree one last time before walking off down the sidewalk in the direction of the mall. Even as I walked away, feeling the sunlight run in pleasant warm waves down my back, I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched.

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**So that's chapter one! I realize it kind of took a while to get started up, but don't worry, there will be _plenty _going on in the next chapter! You'll learn more about miss Gillian (who is the girl Jack was spying on, if anyone's confused) and what's going on in her life, and everything going on at the Pole will reveal itself too, plus some other stuff. I hope that you are enjoying the story so far and I will try to get the next chapter up soon! **

**Later, **

**MellowPaper**


	2. Surprises and Secrets

**Gah, chapter 2 really did come late, didn't it? I apologize for that. The last few weeks of school were especially busy and I got summer reading work as well! Fun, eh? Well anyway, enough about that, here is the very overdue second chapter to my story! I made it much longer than the first chapter and I hope that it was well worth your wait. So without any further delay, enjoy! :)**

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**Jack's P.O.V.**

In a flash the scenery had changed from bare snow-coated trees to the massive Russian workshop that was Nicholas St. North's personal atelier. I landed on a cushy ornate rug as the portal vanished behind me, the last snippets of Burgess lost to the wind with its departure. Baby Tooth flitted about me as I put my staff across one shoulder and straightened up. I turned to the little messenger fairy, her mottled feathers still ruffled up in anxiety. "All right, let's go find the others and see what's going on." She nodded, her violet eyes earnest as she let out a firm squeak of agreement, and the two of us proceeded down through the workshop.

I hadn't been to North's place since the fight against Pitch, and I had to say it was kind of nice to be back again. Everything looked the same as it had before: massive, high-ceilinged rooms stuffed to the brim with humming machines and conveyor belts that rolled out line after line after line of toys, hot off the presses for the coming holiday season. Enormous, hulking Yetis were scattered all over the place, carrying boxes overflowing with novelties and supplies, assembling and painting toys, and overall making sure that the processes were running smoothly. Little elves scuttled to and fro, their belled caps jingling wintry tunes as they looked for ways to get into all sorts of mischief. I had to be careful not to trip over them as I walked. All in all, the workshop was warm, cheery, and loud- in a good way- like some sort of crazy family reunion. The atmosphere seemed so inviting that I almost couldn't believe that something was wrong here, but as I looked more closely at my surroundings I could see the distress starting to leak through. As I continued to pass the elves I could see some of them pause and peer up at me with huge amber eyes, their bells jingling with a sense of urgency. The Yetis also shuffled about at a considerably slower pace than usual, and considering how timely I'd seen them work in the past I felt some concern creep into my stomach at just that. Although everything was going along in the workshop as it should, it became more and more evident that something foreboding was hiding underneath it all, infecting everyone with its dark touch, even me. Clearly whatever I had been summoned for was really bad news.

"Ah, Jack, you have made it safely to the Pole!" called out a familiar voice with a Russian accent. I stopped in my tracks and turned to see the Guardian of Wonder, Santa Claus himself, standing off to the side with some elves about his feet, peering up at him for guidance. I made my way over to the immense man and smiled up at him in greeting. He returned the gesture for only a moment before his face shifted to one of seriousness. Up close I could see his kindly face had a network of tiny lines running across it that I had never really noticed before. _Jeez, he looks like he's aged a couple hundred years since I last saw him. _Again I felt that odd feeling in my stomach, and I subconsciously gripped my staff tighter. For the first time, North seemed… _old _to me. Baby Tooth squeaked quietly and nuzzled up against my neck, sensing my distress, and I forced my concerns down. I couldn't let my nerves get to me now. I was a Guardian, after all.

I realized that I had never responded to North's greeting and quickly nodded. "'Course I did; Baby Tooth took good care of me." I gently patted her downy head feathers and she squeaked happily, leaping from my shoulder to fly about the two of us. "Much better than getting shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal, if you ask me," I said with a wink. I knew that it probably wasn't the best time to be cracking jokes, but I needed to try and break the ice, as well as cool down (no pun intended). All of this was just so surreal that I had to have some sort of relief to stay in one piece.

There was a suggestion of a smile on the man's face, but it didn't last long. "Good, very good. Well, let us not waste time, the others are waiting in the Globe Room. Come along, Jack." I nodded, and the two of us walked down the hall, Baby Tooth zipping along after us.

…

In no time we reached the room. As with the rest of North's workshop, everything looked the same as it had been before, but the ominous undertone was far more powerful here than in the rest of the shop. The other three guardians, Sandy, Bunnymund, and Tooth were huddled in a circle near the center of the room, engaged in a rather hurried discussion. Their appearances were the same as always, but I could tell the austere setting was bending them down somewhat, their words whispers to prevent anyone-or anything- hearing them. It was really unsettling to see all of them so intense. At the sight of North and I in the doorway, they turned to face us, ending the conversation immediately.

"I am back," North announced, "and now Jack has joined us as well." Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy nodded in greeting and made their way over, the sight of both of us seeming to alleviate some tensions.

"Good to see ya there, Frosty," Bunnymund said with a light pat to the shoulder.

" J " Sandy messaged above his head in golden dust.

I smiled back at all of them. It was sure good to see them again. It had been a while since I had seen any of the other guardians, let alone talk to them, and it was unfortunate that our little reunion had to be under such unfortunate conditions. I guess we'd have to play catch-up another day. Baby Tooth leaped from where she was perched on my shoulder and zipped over to Tooth, nuzzling up next to her. Tooth patted her little messenger with one hand and looked over to me with those bright purple eyes of hers.

"Thanks for taking good care of her, Jack," she said with a warm smile.

I shrugged slightly. "No problem, anything for a fellow Guardian," I replied with a smile in return. Tooth's face seemed to glow faintly pink, as if lit from below by some light hidden in her emerald feathers, and she lowered her gaze to the floor, almost shyly, before looking back up to me. I rubbed at the back of my neck, not quite meeting her violet gaze, unsure of what else to say.

A quick word on Tooth. Ever since the fight with Pitch, there have been a lot of rumors swirling amongst the guardians that Tooth and I, well… have a thing going on. That we like each other. I remember on the ride back to North's workshop, right after the fight had ended and we had said goodbye to the kids, Bunny had leaned over and whispered to me about our little hug, saying "so, you and Tooth, eh? Crikey, never would've guessed that one" with a sly wink. But the thing is… that's not how I feel about Tooth at all. Yes, she's a great friend, no doubt about it. If it wasn't for her, I may have never regained my scattered memories and realized my position as a Guardian, and I doubt I'll ever be ever to truly repay her for that one. But a friend is all she'll ever be to me, and even when she hugged me and smiled at me my feelings didn't change. I'll admit, when I have strong feelings, no matter what the feelings are or who they're being directed towards, I feel something, deep inside myself. I'm sure most people may think of it as a spark, or an adrenaline rush or something along those lines, but for me it's a cool flood of air, almost like flying through a raging snowstorm. I've felt it several times before. When I first awoke after coming out of the lake and discovered I had powers, I felt that rush. When I flew for the first time, when I charged Pitch after he had "killed off" Sandy, I had felt it those times too. When I regained my memories and learned about my past, the feeling had been so great it had left me breathless. And when Jamie saw me for the first time and I later hugged him goodbye, I'd felt it then strongest of all. It's an indescribable feeling; it fills you with emotion, scatters you around like a fragile snowflake caught in an icy winter wind, then it leaves you just as quickly as it had come, and when all's said and done there's this gentle warmness leftover inside, making you feel nothing short of special. When Tooth hugged me that day, I hadn't felt anything like I had felt those other times. Yeah, it was nice, but it was just a hug, a friendly gesture. There hadn't been even a hint of a rush. I have no idea how Tooth herself had felt about the hug, if she had thought of it- and of me- as something more, but my only hope is whatever she thought of it won't create an awkward gap in our friendship. She never distrusted me when I first came to the Pole, and I'd hate to lose her and her can-do attitude as a friend.

Speaking of awkward gaps, neither Tooth or I had responded, or really moved for that matter. I still was fumbling around in my mind for something else to say, but luckily for me I didn't have to worry about finishing our brief conversation. North cleared his throat loudly and clapped his hands together, snapping all of us to his attention. "Well then, now that we are all here, it is time to discuss why I have brought you back to the Pole in first place." I straightened up at that sentence and gripped my staff. _Alright, time to find out what's been keeping everyone on edge. _North drew in a deep breath and met each of our eyes as he said, "after a year of peace and quiet, fear has returned to The Globe." His blue eyes were steely and I saw his fists clench as he said it.

I heard everyone gasp, almost inaudibly. Tooth's hands flew to cover her mouth, and Baby Tooth hid behind her, squeaking feebly. Bunny's huge ears twitched and I saw his hand subconsciously coming to rest on his boomerang. A large exclamation mark appeared over Sandy's head, and as for me I felt the air drop to subzero temperatures where I was standing. I'm sure somewhere deep inside all of us we suspected that this would happen again, that fear would ravage the hearts of the children once more, but of course none of us had actually believed fear would come back, let alone so soon. My eyes narrowed and I felt a throbbing in my hand; I saw that I was gripping my staff so tightly that my knuckles had turned pure white and my hand itself was shaking slightly. No one said a word for a few moments, the weight of North's words still sinking in, but finally I turned to face the large man and made vocal what everyone else was thinking. "So, what you're saying is… Pitch has come back?" I asked. The minute the sentence left me I felt myself become queasy as I remembered those yellow eyes and pointy teeth, that haughty, dark laugh and those cold grey fingers. Pitch had been a menace the first time we fought him, but to fight him again now, after he'd have had a year to rebuild his strength- and an even greater desire for revenge? It would be far harder to shut him away again and the sheer thought of it was too much to process. I dared to hope that North's answer would not be a "yes."

Thankfully for all of us, my hopes were right on the money. "No, not quite Pitch," North said. Instantly I felt some relief lift off of everyone. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding, but instantly I toughened up again. _If it's not Pitch we're worried about, then… what _could_ North be talking about? _

Tooth seemed to share my thoughts. "Wait, North, what do you mean by 'not quite Pitch'?" she asked him.

North's brows furrowed. "It is kind of hard to explain. Here, walk with me." North made his way over to the globe, and we all followed him. I looked up at the massive sphere and all of its glimmering gold spots. "You see," North explained, "when Pitch made himself visible the first time, the entire globe was wrapped in thick black sand. This time, there is still sand, but… far less amount of it. And it is concentrated in a single dot, like the dots for the children," North explained. "Look for yourselves." He pointed up at the map and sure enough, in the upper corner of the globe I saw the black dot. It was the same size as each of the dots that represented the believing children, but it seemed to be floating above the globe, like some sort of mutant storm cloud, and the fine shadowy particles that it consisted of were swirling about, fixed in that one spot but clearly itching to expand further.

"Golly, I've never seen anything like that," Bunnymund said in a sort of grim wonder.

"No kidding…" I replied, watching the sand twist and churn over and over again. But suddenly, as I began to take more notice of the land on the map around the dot, I noticed something huge. "Wait a second…. I said, my eyes widening. That dot… it's… it's in Burgess! I was just there!" Instantly I felt my mind whizzing at a million miles per hour. _To think… I could have very well seen the cause of this fear without even knowing it!_

North nodded. "Yes, I noticed that as well. That's why I want you to see if you can identify the person this dot corresponds to, Jack." He pointed at the dot again. "Just fly up and tap the dot," he ordered. I took a quick look at the other Guardians, who shared my same bewildered look, and then I lifted off the ground. I flew up to the dot and just as I was about to tap on it I felt something in me pause. I almost didn't want to know whose face lay behind the black sandy mass. What if it was someone that I had seen every day, had passed by without a second thought? I felt the other Guardians' eyes on me and I toughened my resolve. It didn't matter who they were, because they were going to try to instill fear into the hearts of all of the children in the world again. A memory of Jamie sitting in his bedroom with a stuffed rabbit, begging Bunnymund to prove his existence to him made something in me harden. I wouldn't let Jamie, or Sophie, or any other kid be frightened again. I tapped the dot.

The black sand was pushed downward by my touch and scattered from my fingertip somewhat before slowly reforming into its circular shape. A massive screen, sort of like a hologram image, shot up and out of the dot for us all to see. It nearly crashed into me and I flew backwards in surprise, managing to clumsily land on my feet next to the others. Tooth flew to my aid. "Are you all right, Jack?" she asked with concern, keeping one hand on my shoulder to balance me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks-" The minute I looked up and saw who was on that screen I couldn't finish my sentence. All of my words left me. I took one step closer to the globe and the screen and it felt as if the floor was falling away below my feet. I couldn't believe it. "There's no way," I managed.

But apparently there was a way, because on that screen it showed none other than the very girl I had laid eyes on earlier today, who had been sitting on the bench and drawing. Now, on the screen, the girl was walking through town, and for the first time I could really see what she looked like. She looked about average height, around five foot something, and she was dressed like something out of a rock concert: black and white striped knitted fingerless gloves with three rings per hand, deep red nail polish on each finger, black jean leggings tucked into bright purple combat boots, a pendant and a loose-fitting white top with some sort of splatter design just visible under a plaid peacoat, which shared the same pattern as the messenger bag she had slung over one shoulder. I saw little record earrings dangling from her ears and I thought back to how she had been blasting rock songs from her iPod; maybe she was super big on music. Despite the big coat I could again see her curvy figure underneath it, but as before I found it to be a refreshing sight and didn't mind it at all. That shiny black-and-gold hair that had caught my attention before was now partially hidden underneath a fluffy cream-colored animal hat with bear ears on top of it, complete with black button eyes and a sewn-on smile. I couldn't help but think that the hat made her look rather cute. But the minute I got a good look at her face everything else seemed to fade into the background. Her skin was extremely pale like mine was, and the black hair that framed it made her face pop. She had a tiny, almost delicate looking face, nearly heart-shaped, with rosy cheeks and a light little mouth painted red with shimmery lip gloss. She had small eyebrows that curved in such a way that she always appeared to have a sweet, caring expression on her face, and there was no makeup to be found except the lip gloss and some thin black eyeliner that made her eyes stand out even more. And those eyes… they were what amazed me the most. They were the color of pure gold, similar to Sandy's but lighter and brighter. They seemed to glow in the bright winter light. I know I should have been reading her eyes as some sort of very light brown color, but they were just so…. _golden. _I felt even more blown away than when I had first seen the girl. Now that I'd really seen her, I knew she was different than all the other teenagers in Burgess, without a doubt. She seemed cool, and sweet, and funny… and she was just so _beautiful _in a way you wouldn't expect. I couldn't take my eyes off of that warm golden gaze. There couldn't be any way that someone who looked as fragile as her could be evil. There just couldn't be. "There's… there's no way," I felt myself say again.

I suddenly felt a pair of violet eyes locked on me and I turned away from the screen to see Tooth staring at me, obvious confusion in her eyes, but below that, I saw something that resembled… _hurt. _In that moment I suddenly realized what that hug so many months ago had meant to her. I had no idea what to say to her and instantly I felt both strange and bad. But before I could even open my mouth to say something at all, a strange hissing sound grabbed both of our attentions and turned them towards something else.

The hissing sound was golden steam erupting from Sandy's ears. He hovered a few feet off of the ground and was staring straight at the girl on the screen, his entire form shaking not with fear, but with something like anger. His little face was scrunched up into such a terrifying expression that I never would have guessed he could make. Baby Tooth squeaked and burrowed deeper into Tooth's feathers. Tooth and I exchanged a quick glance and I could tell we were thinking the same thing: _what on Earth has gotten into Sandy?_

"I've never seen Sandy so maggoty before," Bunnymund exclaimed, taking a step back from the golden man.

"Sandy! Sandy! What is wrong?" asked North as he slowly approached, unsure of what the fellow Guardian would do. But Sandy didn't seem to hear him. He just kept his eyes on the image of the girl and without warning, he summoned a golden whip into his hand. North's eyes widened. "Sandy! What are you doing-" but before North could finish, suddenly the sandman raised the whip and cracked it, sending the long golden rope smashing into the screen. Everyone jumped, including me; I nearly dropped my staff in the process. "Sandy! Stop! You will damage the screen!" North exclaimed, raising his arms and trying to get Sandy's attention. Sandy ignored him and continued to lash the whip into the screen over and over again. Ripples fanned out across the surface of the screen and the girl's image split in half where the whip struck it before repairing itself. I just watched in horror at Sandy's anger rising. He continued to attack the image with such a fury that North couldn't even get close. I wondered how much longer it would go but finally after a few more lashes, Sandy dropped his whip and it dispersed into golden dust. He lowered back down to his usual hovering point and the steam faded, but his eyes never left the screen. Finally North was able to reach Sandy. "Are you all right?" he asked, one hand on Sandy's shoulder. Sandy nodded slowly to North, finally looking up at his friend, and they shared a look before North backed off, giving the sandman some space. Sandy's expression returned to its calm, docile nature but I couldn't help but wonder if he would lash out again. _It's almost as if Sandy… knows her from somewhere. The way he was looking at her almost makes it seem that way. _But there was no way that that could be… could it? No matter the case, if this girl could get such a ruse out of Sandy, who we normally had to wake up during these discussions, then we all mayvery well have been in over our heads.

North gave Sandy one last look, marking the end of the incident, but it was clear to me that North would be having a talk with him later about it. "So, yes, the fear seems to be concentrated around this girl in particular." North turned to face me then. "Based off how you were staring at the screen so long, I am guessing you do indeed know her, Jack?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I do…" I paused. "Well, not quite…" I rubbed at the back of my neck. "I saw her today when I was spreading snow across Burgess. I have never seen her there before and that's what struck me the most, since I know pretty much everyone there."

"So you did see her!" North's blue eyes widened. "Tell me more. What did she do? Anything suspicious?"

I shook my head, my silvery hair getting in my face as I did so. I pushed it away and said, "nothing at all suspicious. She was just sitting on a bench, listening to music and drawing. She seemed like any other teenager to me; in fact I didn't even feel any dark energy around her that would tip me off that something was wrong. I'm not gonna lie, I even considered going and talking to her…" I sheepishly looked at the floor, not really sure what else to say.

North looked at me for a moment, chuckled, and then clapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at him. "Ah, Jack, you may be hundreds of years old but you really are still a teenager," he said. I raised an eyebrow, not really sure what he meant, but he continued before I could say anything else. "Funny you should mention, because when something is wrong I feel it in my belly," he started. "When Pitch arrived it was a queasy feeling, like eating stale cookie or drinking spoiled eggnog. But when I saw her dot it wasn't nearly so serious, like a little upset stomach, but not full out barfing," he finished, patting his large stomach as he did so.

"That's… lovely," Tooth said, her nose wrinkled. "But North, what does that mean, if you feel sort of weird about the girl but not all the way?"

"I have been trying to figure that out," North said, stroking his beard thoughtfully with one hand. "My guess is that although clearly the girl has dark powers, that maybe she doesn't in fact _know _of them herself. That is why we need to monitor her very closely, keep watch to see what she really is."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay, that makes sense… but how are we going to do that, exactly?"

North grinned at me. "Oh, it is what _you _will be doing, Jack, not us." He pointed one finger up to the ceiling and I followed it to the skylight, where a familiar shape could be seen up in the sky.

"Man in Moon," I said.

North nodded. "He spoke with me earlier, said that had message for you, that he has been wanting to tell you for quite some time now." As if on cue, the ground began to shake slightly and a pedestal rose upward and out of the floor. Instantly I made my way over to it though I couldn't quite process what was happening. A pale light rose up and out of the pedestal, and in its glow I could see two shapes forming. I began to realize what Man in Moon's dispatch was trying to say. The first shape completely solidified and I saw that it was a miniature version of me, full color, complete with staff. _Wow, Man in Moon really gets all the details down. _I lifted my eyes to see that the next shape had completely taken form and that it had become the girl in question, donned in a miniature version of the outfit she was currently wearing. Nothing else appeared. It appeared to be an extremely vague message with lots of possible meanings, but one look and it was perfectly clear what was being asked of me.

"He wants me to get to know this girl," I said slowly. "He wants me to befriend her, learn her secrets." I felt something in my stomach begin to gnaw away at me. On one hand, I couldn't believe my luck. Now I'd actually get to talk to this girl and see what she was all about. But at the same time I had to remember that this same girl had pushed Sandy to a cosmic meltdown. Although she certainly _seemed _harmless, I guess I couldn't really make assumptions, now could I? Even so, looking into the tiny but still warm golden eyes in the light I just wanted to believe she wasn't something bad.

"I see," North finally said, stroking his beard again. Suddenly his face lit up and he clapped his hands together, causing me to whip around and look at him. "Well," he said, "let us not waste time with it. The sooner we get started with this the better. Let us begin figuring out how you should go about meeting her, Jack."

I nodded. "Sure thing, but there's one little problem I just thought of," I said, raising my staff to rest on my shoulder.

"And that is?" North asked.

"Well, I can't very well get to know her if she doesn't believe in me to begin with," I said. "If she doesn't believe in any of us Guardians, then we're kind of stuck, wouldn't you say?"

"Do not worry, I have already thought of," North replied. "Take a look at that dot again, Jack."

"Alright…" I flew up to the globe and studied the dot a bit more closely. I wasn't sure what North expected me to be seeing, but then, underneath the layers of black sand I saw a few speckles of gold nestled in there. They mirrored the gold dots scattered across the globe and were a clear sign of a believer. _Well, I guess that solves that problem. _I turned to look at North and the others. "There's gold hidden in between the sand, so whoever she is, she must believe." Tooth and Bunny nodded in fascination. Sandy just looked at the floor with no response. I landed back on the ground and walked over to North again. "So… now that that's out of the way, how exactly should I go about meeting her?"

"Well," North started, "you can't just go introduce yourself as you are. You need to disguise yourself, make a new identity. We do not know for certain whether or not she has a connection to Pitch, so you need to keep yourself hidden in order to prevent him learning of your whereabouts. Also, as many children believe in you, we cannot risk any of them identifying you and thus blowing your cover." He then reached out and tapped my staff with one finger. "No staff either," he said.

I stared at him, confused. "Wait, why? Without my staff I can't use any of my powers."

"Exactly," North replied with a grin. "You can't risk using any magic that could tip her off as to who you really are."

"And besides," Bunnymund added, "what're you gonna need magic for anyway if you're talking to her? Make a rose for her out of snow?"

I shot him a look and he chuckled a little under his breath. I'd get him back for that one later. I turned back to face North. "That makes sense, but what if she tries to attack me or something? I wouldn't be able to defend myself."

"She should have no reason to attack you, especially if you are going to befriend her," said North. "But if it ever were to happen that she use any powers against you, get out of wherever you are with your snow globe portal and let us know."

"Okay," I said, my mind processing everything that North had told me. "I guess that covers everything I was concerned with. My only question now is, how exactly am I supposed to disguise myself?"

"Well first you would need to change your clothes," said North. When he saw my indignant expression he explained himself. "You need to appear convincing as a regular human boy to her, yes? Well you can't exactly do that in your current outfit." I looked down at my blue sweatshirt and brown pants. I'd always worn these clothes and had never thought anything of it, but North did have a point. Any regular teenager would have major frostbite in what I was wearing.

"And I hate to break it to ya, mate," chimed in Bunnymund, "but most twenty-first century teenagers wear shoes." I glanced down at my bare feet and grimaced. I knew Bunny was right, but the idea of shoes on my feet was one that I'd never been a fan of. From the first moment I woke up from the lake and felt the cold, smooth ice beneath my feet I had vowed to myself I would never need them. I loved the feel of air tickling between my toes when I flew and soft, chilly snow brushing against my soles when I walked on rooftops. Plus shoes just added more weight and were clunky, in my opinion. But I couldn't let a little dislike of footwear get in the way of my assignment. I'd just have to get used to it.

"All right, I'll do a little research on teenage fashion," I said. "Then that just leaves my actual, physical appearance in question. I doubt there are any other guys there with pure white hair and blue eyes."

At that moment, Tooth, who had been silent the entire time, perked up at my words. "I actually know how I can help with that," she said, eyes bright.

"You do?" North and I said at the same time. I looked over at him. _I guess there are some things even they don't know about each other after all these years._

Tooth nodded. "Yeah, I've got the perfect method, it's quick and effective!" She zipped up into the air, Baby Tooth next to her. "Except we'll need to do it in a different space, I haven't practiced with it in a while and I don't want to risk damaging anything." She flitted down the hall. "C'mon, everyone!" she called.

I raised an eyebrow and stared after her. "Well, that sounds… interesting. I guess we'd better go see what she's planning." Sandy and Bunnymund nodded in agreement and left the room, following Tooth. Baby Tooth squeaked a quick goodbye and flitted out after them. I started to follow them, but North put one hand on my shoulder, stopping me instantly. I turned to look at him.

North's expression was serious. "Before we continue, Jack, I want to make something very clear: do not get overly attached to this girl, understand? I know she looks very intriguing, and in your eyes I see that you really want to be her friend, if not perhaps more." Instantly I felt my face inexplicably heat somewhat. I managed to force my feelings down before it could get too noticeable. "But," North continued, raising his pointer finger for emphasis, "you must remember that no matter how nice she could be, she has dark energy surrounding her. Her powers may very well be the return of complete fear as we know it. So we must be careful. _You _must be careful. Trust me, Jack, to grow fond of her could very well change things forever. Change _you _forever. That I know for certain." With that last sentence, he patted me on the head, mussing my hair, and exited down the hall after the others.

As I fixed the tousled strands of hair I couldn't help but wonder what North had meant by his last few lines. _He said that he knew feelings for someone could change a person forever… is there something about himself or the others that he's not telling me? _I thought again to Sandy's enraged expression, the whip going through the screen over and over. Something had to be up with those two, I just wish I knew what that was. But I couldn't focus on that now; I had a makeover to worry about. _How exactly is Tooth going to change my appearance anyway? I didn't even know she had the ability to do that. And how safe is it going to be? She did mention "damaging things…" oh well. Guess I'll find out soon enough. _I walked out into the hallway and looked back at the Globe Room one last time before shutting the door behind me. As I made my way down the hall, following a ways behind North, three questions swirled about through my head.

_**Will things change between Tooth and I now that we are both aware of our feelings towards each other?**_

_**How is this girl really connected to Pitch, the nightmares, Burgess, and us Guardians?**_

And, the most pressing question of all…

_**Why is it that I've never once met this girl, and yet I just keep wanting her to be normal?**_

The questions kept on nagging at me as I walked, demanding for answers. Although I couldn't answer any of them at this point, as I walked into the room where the other Guardians were waiting for me I knew for certain that everything was indubitably going to change.

* * *

**Aaand end scene! What did you all think? Mysterious eh? Looks like there are all kinds of secrets that are going to be revealed in the later chapters. Does Gillian, my OC, really have a relation to Pitch? Why did Sandy get so angry? Is he just furious over the return of fear, or is something greater brewing here...? What will Tooth do? And how will Jack end up disguising himself? I guess we will have to see in the third chapter, when Jack finally meets Gillian for the first time. It's going to be a big reveal and I hope that you'll stick around for the ride and see what happens!**

**Since it's been very unpredictable with all my schoolwork and schedule and things, I can't guarantee when chapter 3 will get here. I will work as often as I can but please be aware of this and patient as well. Just know that I'm not ditching this story by any means and you will see more updates! So, on that note, I must be on my way. Don't forget to review, and I shall see you all next time at the Pole!**

**Ciao, MellowPaper**

****Also as one last quick note: I tried to make Bunnymund's voice have an Australian quality to it, as he is Australian, and as I myself am not Australian I looked through many sources to make sure that some words I used were accurate things that are considered to be Australian slang. However, as I am not Australian and I have no definite way of knowing for certain that I was entirely accurate, if anything is incorrect I apologize now and please let me know so that I can fix it for the future. (:**


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